Wireless communication information is exchanged via a wireless link with base stations (BS). Base stations exchange this information with switch sites via backhaul communication links. When the backhaul communication link fails, all wireless links are dropped. There is typically a backhaul communication link for each base station. Therefore a backhaul failure only affects one base station, or only a portion of traffic. A multi-tier backhaul architecture concentrates multiple base stations onto a single backhaul communication link. With this architecture, a single backhaul communication link failure can affect as many as a thousand wireless communication links.
Overview
A method and apparatus for switching backhaul communication links is disclosed. The method comprises monitoring communication traffic flowing across a primary backhaul communication link. When a problem is detected with the primary backhaul communication link, the traffic is shifted from the primary backhaul communication link onto a secondary backhaul communication link. The traffic may be shifted based upon voice traffic types. The traffic may be shifted based upon voice traffic types and data traffic types.